The Stakes Are High (But This Love is Ours)
by McEvoyer
Summary: 4x23 Speculation. Darhk has been defeated but the city still needs a hero, and Oliver steps in to assume that role. Felicity comes to some conclusions about their relationship.


**Hey all! This is just a quick drabble about that picture I saw of Oliver standing on top of a car...and then it turned into something else! Haha. Hope you guys like what you read! :)**

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She was in the bunker watching the screens when he did it.

The second Felicity saw him climb atop a cab in the middle of the street she was captivated by him just like everyone else around him. That was a good word for him, she thought. _Captivating._ There was something so inherently alluring about Oliver Queen. For those who didn't know him personally, there was this shroud of mystery and intrigue surrounding his every move - the reformed party-boy who endured a shadowy five years in hell. For those closest to him, his sheer capacity for love and selflessness were a genuine stamp of his strength and courage to rise up against incredible adversity and remain true to himself.

He was like a magnet; this quiet, invisible force pulling you towards him.

Darhk had been defeated just the night before and Star City was picking itself back up piece by piece, its citizens seemingly mulling about in a haze, coming to terms with the destruction laid out in front of them. It'd been a tough night with _too_ many close calls, but they did it.

 _It was over._

So much had happened in such a relatively short space of time and it felt like they were living in a nightmare every second of every day with no end to it in sight. Every morning Felicity would wake up and for a split-second forget all of the horrible things that had transpired, and then reality would sink in and she'd have to face another day of trying to outthink, outwit, and out-power Damien Darhk.

And finally, _finally_ , it was finished.

But Oliver insisted that the people still needing saving.

And judging by the pervading sense of loss among the city, she was inclined to agree.

What he was doing on top of a car though she wasn't sure, but she couldn't look away, her heart ponding erratically in her chest as if it already knew what he was going to do. She swallowed hard and leaned in closer like the simple movement alone would draw her nearer to him.

Oliver stood tall, the Queen air of grace and elegance perfectly evident in his raised chin and fixed shoulders, his eyes scanning each and every face that piled in around the car.

"As many of you know, my name is Oliver Queen." A hum of acknowledgement sounded from the crowd. "Some of you know me because I was the guy plastered on the front pages of all the tabloids when I was a teenager. Others know me as the guy who ran for mayor and dropped out of the race even though I was winning." He paused briefly, letting the several scoffs from the onlookers wash over him. "But most of you know me as the guy who spent five years living in hell." The scene then fell eerily silent at that with each person rapt with the man in front of them. A sombre weight enveloped them all as the slight shake in his voice alerted them, for possibly the very first time, to the reality of what had happened to him some years ago. "I'm not going to go into details," he remarked, carrying on despite the sputtering of his heartbeat, "but those five years changed me. I only had one goal: survive. I experienced pain and loss on an excruciating level, I endured more hardships than I ever thought a single person could experience, and I had to make the harshest of decisions in order to stay alive."

The blonde closed her eyes at the ache in his voice. It was so raw, so real, so vulnerable. He was bearing all in front of his whole world. In response her heart tugged, longing to be beside him, offering herself as an anchor, a support, a place of refuge and security like he had always been for her.

 _Like he had always been for her._

The thought was not lost on her, the reality so clear in that moment. Oliver had never abandoned her; had never turned his back on her; had never doubted her. He was an immovable force of love and comfort, of safety and reassurance.

God, she missed him so much.

"It was so easy – too easy - to slip into despair. To seethe with hate and hurt. To believe that hope was nothing but a fairytale idea and that humanity was too far gone to be saved. Everything that I encountered warped my way of living. I found myself believing that right and wrong weren't staples to live by anymore, that second chances were futile and empty because people couldn't change. That life wasn't fair. That there was no good left. And I believed that for a long time." His breath hitched, his stare somewhere distant. "When I came back home to Star City I realized that I was wrong. Good still existed. Love and honour and friendship were real. The problem was that it felt like _I_ was too far gone in that way of thinking to really, truly change. And that's a scary and dangerous place to be in. Yet, what saved me was having people close to me who showed the good _in_ me, who believed in me even when I couldn't do that for myself. People who taught me that I was never alone."

Felicity was hooked on his words, drinking them in. They were so loaded as they punctuated the air, each sentence fuelled with intent. Not one person made a sound as he dropped his head to collect himself.

"And that's what I want to tell you all today," he continued, his fingers rubbing together the way they did when he was trying to centre himself. "I want to tell you that this city can be saved. I want to tell you that I believe in the people of this city. I want to tell you that you are not alone no matter how bleak or how insurmountable or how impossible your circumstances may seem. We are all in this together. Star City has faced tremendous difficulty over the past few years and if those difficulties have taught me anything it's that the people who live here are survivors. They don't back down. They rebuild and they grow. They are strong. I could have given up when I came home and just let myself sink in deep into the suffering and trauma of what I went through, but I couldn't. Because I love this city. Because I care about this city and the people in it. Star City has been associated with darkness but I'm here to tell you that Star City, and the people of Star City, can be the light. It can be the beacon of hope for so many other places. Believe in _that."_

Applause and cheers erupted from all angles, taking the man off-guard at how responsive they were to his words. He was visibly moved by the outpouring of support, seemingly even more driven to do what was necessary to restore his home.

Unable to help it, Felicity's eyes filled with pride and admiration for the man she loved. She had always seen – and adored - the passion in Oliver with respect to every aspect of his life but now finally the rest of the world could see it – and the not the typical mayoral façade he embodied during the race, but the real, raw desire he had to make Star City a place more than its scars and struggles.

"So let's grow!" A cheer. "Let's rebuild!" Another cheer, this time even louder. "Let's be stronger than before! Let's not just survive – let's be better! And let us be united. _We_ are this city. And _we_ are going to save what's ours."

The smile that split her face was unplanned and unexpected and to be perfectly honest, such a welcome change. Lately she was wondering if she'd ever really smile again. There wasn't much room for smiling in the line of work they were in. Not since…well, everything had happened.

But she was just _so_ proud of him.

And her heart swelled with so many emotions she had desperately tried to suppress for so long.

After all of the stuff they had to sift through over the past few months, after all the heartbreak and confusion and complete and utter despair, Oliver somehow managed to come out the other end the most secure of them all. John was turning a corner but what happened with his brother had left a wound so deep Felicity wasn't sure if it'd ever heal; Thea had lost another person close to her and was at the end of her rope, needing to just get away from it all; and Felicity? Well she was still emotionally reeling from the rollercoaster she'd been on the past year. Never had she felt so disconnected to herself in so many ways before, but never had she faced such tremendous hardship before so she didn't really have a lot to compare it to.

But Oliver…Oliver seemed so sure of himself and his mission now. It was as though a light – _his_ light – had finally ignited and he understood his purpose. He had been the one spurring them on even through the darkest of times – and he didn't even realize it. When something went wrong, he was the one offering the little words of encouragement and faith. His belief in the team, in _her_ , was unwavering.

Standing on top of that cab in the middle of the street surrounded by a countless number of people served to remind Felicity of something she had always known: Oliver Queen was a hero.

 _Her_ hero.

They still had a long way to go but she wasn't going anywhere this time. She wasn't going to run away; she was going to work it out with him because they were worth fighting for, and their love was worth living for.

It was going to be hard and she knew that, but most of all, she also knew that when it was all said and done, Oliver Queen was the love of her life.

He told her that she was his always and he just wanted the chance to be hers…

Well now she was ready to give him that chance.

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 **So what did you guys think? Would love to hear your thoughts! Thanks for reading :)**


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